4 ms·
As a bit of interesting trivia, Portugal's monetary unit before the Euro was the "Escudo", which literally means "Shield".
by hnedeotes 5y ago
As a bit of interesting trivia, Portugal's monetary unit before the Euro was the "Escudo", which literally means "Shield".
- ithkuil 5y agoMany medieval are called "shields" (ecú, scudo, ...) bacause they are marked with the noble coat of arms of who issues them. The coat of arms is rendered primarily in shields and shields are ore often featured directly in the coins
- hnedeotes 5y agoYeah I can see the association with the coat of arms - not like I had a great understanding of the currency naming or anything but went to check since I knew "escudo" had to have been in use after the implementation of the republic (which dethroned the royal house) - and in fact they substituted the "real" by the "escudo". It's a fun take having it named directly as "shield", since the ability to control the money production can be seen as a weapon/defence.